This thesis deals with the risk management of savings accounts. Savings accounts are non- maturing liabilities bearing two embedded options. The first option is the client's right to withdraw deposits on notice. The second option is a bank's right to change the deposit rate on savings accounts whenever it wishes. This in practice means that a fierce competition may arise as banks can quickly react to competitor's change in the deposit rate. The embedded characteristics make the risk management of savings accounts challenging. We identify five key risks of savings accounts: liquidity risk, market risk (interest rate risk), systemic risk, reputational risk, and model risk. The thesis focuses on the interest rate risk and the method of replicating portfolios, which is a standard technique of the estimation of non-maturing liabilities' interest rate risk employed by banks. Using replicating portfolio approach, we derive that savings accounts are risky liabilities. We provide evidence that high deposit rates offered on numerous savings accounts in the Czech Republic have not been consistent with low market rates since January 2012, at least. We show that unsustainable deposit rates combined with competition among banks will lead to capital losses in some banks when market rates increase. JEL...

The purpose of study is to research the development of electric vehicle technology in the United States. This study describes the United States public policies towards electric vehicle technology and system of innovation approaches. The government roles with the help of national system of innovation have been also covered in this study. The point of departure was the study of available literature and U.S energy policy acts which illustrates that the break-through in electric vehicles still not only depended on better battery technology and infrastructure for charging stations but also on social, economic and political factors. The important actors involved in the process are both at local and international level are private firms, governmental departments, research and development (R&D) institutes, nongovernment organizations (NGO’s) and environmental organizations etc. The arguments which are put forward in the background of development of such technologies are to reduce dependence on foreign oil and to reduce emissions of harmful gasses.

In the study of government accountability, there have long been arguments about which model is superior. These arguments, which are largely made by those in the performance and political accountability camps, state that their particular model is the best, and indeed only legitimate approach to ensuring accountable government. At the same time, there is growing research in policy tools but little in how accountability models and policy tools are linked in policy design. This study makes use of the context provided by the critical cases of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). With such large sums of money in play at a time of serious economic downturn and mounting federal deficits, government clearly has a responsibility to ensure accountability so that the public can be assured not only that its funds are being spent properly but also more generally, that accountability as well as policy tool choice is in the minds of officials as they formulate, adopt and implement public policy. The intent of this study is to present an argument in two main areas using the critical case studies of TARP and ARRA. First, that no one accountability model fully explains most policy tool choices in TARP or ARRA and that the use of multiple models is superior. Second, that we can link policy tool choices and accountability models in policy design. The standards used to establish what models explain what tool choices are in the models themselves. Each policy is explored individually in a chapter, and the lessons and results of this study are then presented in the final chapter. The data presented in this study indicate that a single-model approach may explain a few, but not most and certainly not all, policy tool choices in TARP and ARRA. Indeed, a multiple model approach proves superior to a single-model approach in all but a few instances. As for the connections between policy tools and accountability models, the data presented in this study show that they were strongly impacted by the policy formulation process itself, specifically the way in which the policy problem was framed and the speed with which it was undertaken.

Pour les contribuables détenteurs de titres en forte plus-value latente qui souhaitent, d’une part, utiliser leur valorisation pour réaliser de nouveaux investissements et, d’autre part, limiter l’impôt afférent à cette plus-value, une opération a été imaginée : l’apport-cession-délocalisation. Il s’agit pour le contribuable d’apporter ses titres à une société sous un régime de différé d’imposition – report ou sursis – avant que cette dernière ne les cède en franchise d’impôt. Ce faisant, la société bénéficiaire de l’apport peut réinvestir le prix de cession et le contribuable n’est imposé que lors de la cession ultérieure des titres reçus en échange de l’apport. Réalisé dans un cadre national, l’apport-cession n’octroie au contribuable qu’un délai dans l’établissement de l’impôt de plus-value mais combiné à une délocalisation du domicile fiscal, cette opération peut aboutir à sa diminution voire à sa suppression. Toutefois, la jurisprudence et le législateur sont intervenus afin d’encadrer cette opération en posant les conditions dans lesquelles elle serait abusive puis en instaurant un nouveau régime spécifique aux apports réalisés en faveur d’une société contrôlée par l’apporteur et en remettant en place un système d’exit tax. Certes, ces nouveaux encadrements impliquent l’adaptation des modalités de réalisation de l’opération et en limitent les effets, particulièrement l’exit tax, toutefois, l’opération demeure possible et avantageuse. En outre, certains aspects de l’exit tax peuvent être contestés au regard du droit de l’Union européenne et conventionnel de sorte que sa pérennité – et donc les limites qu’il implique dans le cadre de cette opération – est incertaine. / A dedicated three-step tax scheme has been designed for individuals holding assets with a latent capital gain; willing to reinvest their profits into other activities and reduce taxes on capital gains normally owed: Capital contribution of the assets held by this individual to a company in exchange of shares (Step 1), sales of those assets by the this company to a third-party (Step 2), relocation of the individual to another country (Step 3). The objective is for this individual to beneficiate from a deferred taxation on the capital contribution and for this company to sell assets on a tax-free basis. The company will therefore be able to reinvest the price from the assets sales and the individual will only be taxed when received shares are subsequently sold. In domestic situations, this tax scheme only offers deferral of taxes on capital gains ; but combined with the individual relocation, it enables to drastically reduce if not totally suppress taxes. Since then, legislators and judges have clearly identified conditions defining tax abuse, have defined new rules related to capital contribution to companies controlled by the contributor and have implemented exit-tax mechanisms. Despite this new legal framework, the studied tax scheme is still of significant interest. Additionally, some aspects of the exit-tax might certainly be challenged in regards to European Union law and European fiscal conventions.

The purpose of this study is to find out the effect of government spending on capital investments in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 on GDP and employment growth. This research utilized US quarterly data from 2003 QI to 2013 QII. In the first part the research used variables from the Keynes economic model and utilized two-stage least square analysis to assess the effect of government spending on GDP. The results from the regression analysis indicate that an increase of one dollar in government spending increases GDP by 1.569 dollars. The researcher found that the general government spending multiplier was 1.9. The coefficient for government spending in the Recovery Act was 0.383, implying that for every one dollar in government spending, Recovery Act spending on capital investments contributed 0.383 dollars. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:48:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabiana Franco de Oliveira.pdf: 2325319 bytes, checksum: 8445c073369bffb9ce6e9cf31ed9d303 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-22 / This paper seeks to analyze the debate on the results of the american local reinvestment law Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), aimed at the role of government regulating in expanding access to credit, as well its participation in local development. At the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the funding program for housing in the New Deal had as objective to create jobs for thousands of unemployed. The mortgage of the government, however, has not benefited everyone. A large inventory was designed to assess the residential areas of the country. The mapping of regions where the banks could not provide loans worth up to discriminatory criteria. The factors of exclusion had nothing to do with the solvency of the inhabitants, but with the conservation status of the neighborhoods and the presence of ethnic minorities on the spot. The practice was called redlining because the areas excluded from access to credit were red delineated on the maps prepared by the government. Researchers of urban planning in the United States argue that these maps were used by public and private entities to, years later, denying loans to people in black communities or low-income neighborhoods. The assumptions of redlining resulted in increasing the geographical and racial segregation and has contributed to urban decay. The CRA was created in 1977 to combat redlining in the granting of mortgage financing. While the immediate goal was to punish discrimination in the granting of loans, the issue of local economic development has been the more comprehensive target of the law. After 30 years of implementation, what were the results? Based on analysis of existing literature on the impact of CRA on access to credit for low-income communities and ethnic minorities, this study seeks answers to these questions. The object of this debate analysis also houses the controversy surrounding the relationship between the CRA and the credit crisis linked to the U.S. mortgage system / Este trabalho analisa o debate sobre os resultados da lei de reinvestimento local norte-americana Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), tendo em vista o papel da regulação governamental na ampliação do acesso ao crédito bancário e a participação deste do desenvolvimento local. No auge da Grande Depressão dos anos 1930, o programa de financiamento à habitação do New Deal tinha como objetivo criar postos de trabalho para milhares de desempregados. A garantia hipotecária do governo, no entanto, não beneficiou a todos. Um grande inventário foi criado para avaliar as áreas residenciais do país. O mapeamento das regiões onde credores hipotecários assegurados por fundos do governo não poderiam conceder empréstimos valeu-se de critérios discriminatórios. Os fatores de exclusão nada tinham a ver com a solvabilidade dos habitantes, mas com as características sócio-econômicas dos bairros e a presença de minorias no local. A prática foi denominada redlining , uma vez que as áreas excluídas do acesso ao crédito eram delimitadas em vermelho, nos mapas elaborados pelo governo. Pesquisadores do planejamento urbano nos Estados Unidos defendem que esses mapas foram utilizados por entidades públicas e privadas para, anos mais tarde, negar empréstimos a pessoas em comunidades negras ou bairros de baixa renda. Os pressupostos do redlining resultaram no aumento da segregação racial e geográfica, além de contribuir para a degradação urbana. O CRA foi criado em 1977 para combater a discriminação na concessão de financiamento hipotecário, mas a questão do desenvolvimento econômico local constituiu um alvo mais abrangente da lei. Após 30 anos de execução, quais foram os seus resultados? Com base na análise da literatura existente acerca do impacto do CRA no acesso ao crédito para comunidades de baixa renda e minorias étnicas, este trabalho busca respostas a essas questões. O debate objeto desta análise também abriga a polêmica em torno das relações entre o CRA e a crise de crédito ligada ao sistema hipotecário dos EUA, que eclodiu em 2007/2008, afetando países em todo o mundo

The diploma thesis investigates causes and progression of the financial crisis beginning in 2007 in the United States and leading in the economic recession. Theoretical part of the thesis describes business cycles and their explanations in accordance with the Austrian theory of the business cycle and other theories. Analytical part of the thesis explores the period before the crisis and significant events relevant to it. The main subject of the thesis are institutions and regulatory measures that have major importance for the U.S. real estate market -- including monetary and intervenionist policy of Fed, Community Reinvestment Act, government sponsored enterprises and three major rating agencies. The goal of the work is to provide a comprehensive view of the financial crisis and analyse main factors that influenced its creation -- credit expansion, mortgage market, Fed's monetary policy, bank behavior, etc. This thesis tries to demonstrate an inaccuracy of state inteventions and their impacts on the economy and market system.

L’objet de la présente recherche vise à donner un éclairage théorique, empirique et pratique de l’après-transmission du point de vue du cédant, qui a transmis sa PME saine ou apparemment saine, pour un motif autre que la retraite. A la suite de l’étude d’un cas pilote, la recherche s’oriente vers l’investigation de l’après-transmission volontaire du cédant mature en PME, comme opportunité de rebond pluridimensionnel. Le cadre conceptuel procède des théories du développement psychosocial à mi-vie, du développement du style cognitif de l’adulte, des stratégies de réinvestissement et du concept d’identité plurielle. Fondés sur une étude de cas multiples composée de huit unités d’analyse, les résultats résident dans la compréhension de la dynamique de rebond du cédant mature en PME (1), la modélisation du processus de rebond associé à l’évolution du statut du cédant-réinvestisseur (2) et la formulation d’une taxonomie des trajectoires individuelles de rebond (3). Au final, l’après-transmission du cédant mature en PME se révèle être un rebond au singulier pluriel. / The aim of the present research is to provide a theoretical, empirical and practical exploration of post- succession, from the perspective of the transferor who has transferred a healthy or apparently healthy SME for a reason other than retirement. Following a pilot case study, the research focused on the investigation of the voluntary post-succession of the mature SME transferor, as an opportunity for pluridimensional rebound. The conceptual framework emerges from theories of midlife psychosocial development, adult cognitive style development and reinvestment strategy and the concept of multiple identities. Based on a study of multiple cases, using eight units of analysis, the results lead to the understanding of the rebound dynamics of the mature SME transferor (1), modelling of the rebound process associated with the development of the status of transferor/reinvestor (2) and the formulation of a taxonomy of individual rebound trajectories (3). Finally, the post- succession of the mature SME transferor is revealed to be a “singular-plural” rebound.

In order to understand how policies are made, analysts need to be able to explain and describe the policy making process. This is a complex task due to the variety and complexity of policy making environments. The difficulty lies in accounting for the multiple actors who come and go, differing preferences, and impending problems and solutions sets which vary by policy environment. Therefore, there is a need to approach the understanding of policy processes from several different theoretical perspectives to aid in evaluating the multifaceted variations which ultimately affect policy making. An improved description of processes can lead to more accurate predictions of possible future policies, improved advocacy efforts, and enhanced problem solving. Two policy process frameworks, the Multiple Stream Framework (MSF) and the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, were applied to a recent significant change in science policy. An understanding is developed to explain how federal science funding survived within the highly controversial and costly American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The volatile and unpredictable nature of science policy lends itself well to the MSF, while the more static IAD is less useful to explain how and why the funds stayed in the bill. This is telling about the scope and adaptability of the two frameworks, where each may be better suited for different policy environments. The MSF being more appropriate for unstable and capricious policy issues and the IAD better matched for policy issues which have a somewhat more stable environment.

L’approche au coeur de cette étude est une recherche-action qui a pour but de mettre à l’essai un réseau littéraire, à caractère interdisciplinaire, pour le réinvestissement du vocabulaire disciplinaire et des concepts en arithmétique auprès des élèves de deuxième année du primaire. Cette recherche comporte trois objectifs spécifiques : 1) mettre à l’essai un réseau littéraire pour décrire et analyser les pratiques enseignantes 2) décrire et analyser le réinvestissement du vocabulaire disciplinaire en arithmétique des élèves du premier cycle du primaire 3) mettre en relation les pratiques enseignantes et le réinvestissement du vocabulaire disciplinaire en arithmétique des élèves. Pour y arriver, une enseignante de 2e année du primaire du centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys a participé à notre recherche en expérimentant le réseau littéraire proposé dans cette étude. Nous avons conduit trois séances d’entretien en tout avec l’enseignante avant, pendant et après l’expérimentation. Une analyse de contenu a été effectuée à partir des propos et des impressions de l’enseignante. Durant l’expérimentation, nous avons participé à trois séances d’observation dont l’analyse a été effectuée en nous basant sur le modèle multi-agenda. Finalement, quatre élèves ont participé à un entretien qui visait notamment à analyser et à décrire le réinvestissement du vocabulaire disciplinaire en arithmétique et leurs résultats ont été analysés à l’aide d’une grille d’évaluation bâtie par nous. À la lumière des données, nous constatons l’importance de l’engagement professionnel et des pratiques expertes de l’enseignante pour favoriser le réinvestissement du vocabulaire disciplinaire associé aux concepts en arithmétique chez les élèves. Concernant les apports du réseau littéraire, les albums jeunesse ont constitué une source de motivation, de participation et d’engagement pour les élèves. Ils ont aussi favorisé le réinvestissement du vocabulaire disciplinaire. Les limites de cette recherche se situent davantage au niveau de la longueur et du sens de certaines questions étant donné que certains élèves n’ont pas le français comme langue maternelle, ce qui pouvait avoir un impact sur le niveau de compréhension des questions en lien avec les oeuvres du réseau. / This research project fits according to an action research approach and aims at putting into practice a literacy network, being of interdisciplinary nature, for the reinvestment of disciplinary vocabulary in arithmetic with second grade students. This present research has the following three specific objectives: 1) to put into practice a literacy network to analyze and describe the teacher’s practices 2) to analyze and describe the second-grade student’s reinvestment of disciplinary vocabulary in arithmetic 3) to put into relation the impact of teacher practices in the reinvestment of the student’s disciplinary vocabulary in arithmetic. In order to succeed, a second-grade elementary teacher from the Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys participated in our research project by experimenting the literacy network proposed in this study. During the experimentation, we participated in three sessions of observation in which the analysis was performed according to the multi-agenda model. In addition, we conducted three semi-structured interview sessions before, during and after the experimentation. A content analysis was carried out based on the teacher’s comments and impressions. Lastly, four students participated in our interview questionnaire and their results were analyzed by an evaluation grid that we have built. At the light of the results and of our analysis, we notice the importance of professional engagement and the second-grade teacher’s expert practices pertaining to the disciplinary vocabulary of arithmetic of the students. Concerning the contributions, children’s literature has constituted an important source of student motivation and participation. It also favored the reinvestment of disciplinary vocabulary. The limits of this research are more pertaining to the length and the meaning of certain questions considering the fact that certain students do not have French as their native language which could’ve had an impact on their level of comprehension relating to the questions on the literacy network.